What Is Uber Eats All About?

Uber Eats is the food delivery option of Uber, picking up the food from local restaurants and bringing it to the customer’s doorstep. It’s as easy as clicking a button, and they can choose any item on the menu from the restaurant of their choice.

Uber Eats drivers are delivery partners of Uber, which doesn’t make them employees of the company, but they’re contractors who are paid based on how many deliveries they made in a day.

But why would restaurants use Uber Eats? It helps them set up a delivery service if in case they don’t have one yet. With Uber’s vast network of drivers, restaurants will be assured they won’t have any customers not making an order because there’s no one to deliver it.

Also, Uber is a big name, so if a restaurant partners up with Uber Eats, they’re already benefitting from the brand through association.

What Is It Like To Be An Uber Eats Driver In 2021?

Car drivers have to be 19 years old or older, but bicycle delivery partners can be as young as 18.  Drivers can choose what shift they can work, and if they have a car that qualifies for Uber, drivers can choose to do regular Uber rides. 

For cars, drivers need to have a two or four-door car manufactured after 1998. They also need to have a license, insurance, and proof of vehicle registration. Drivers also need to have one year of driving experience and can lift 30 pounds.

For scooters, riders need to have a valid driver’s license and scooter registration. Any make and model of a scooter with two wheels are allowed, and it should have a 50cc motor or less and cannot travel faster than 30 mph.

Uber Eats drivers get about $8 to $12 an hour after considering vehicle expenses. They are paid a fee for picking up and dropping off the order and the mileage from picking up the order to delivering it to the customer. 

Uber gets a 25% cut from what the driver gets. Customers can tip the drivers in or out of the app, and drivers get to keep all of it.

Uber Eats delivery works almost the same as giving rides through Uber. It is different from traditional food delivery because no one needs to hand over money, as they usually do everything through the app.

In the app, drivers can enable or disable delivery requests. The requests are sent to drivers who are nearest the restaurant that the customer chose, so it’s best to park somewhere strategically.

Best to always have the phone accessible because once a delivery request comes in, a driver has 30 seconds to accept it or decline it. 

More information about the delivery comes in once it gets accepted, and the driver can ask further questions about the delivery, such as getting ketchup, extra pieces of plasticware, or any other requests that the customer might have.

How Much & How Uber Eats Drivers Get Paid – 2021

Uber Eats old pay model didn’t show where the order needs to be dropped off, so it wasn’t accurate in estimating how much a driver could earn from a delivery.

By the spring of 2020, Uber Eats rolled out a new pay model which showed the customer drop-off location and how much the driver can earn before they accept it.

Uber Eats, however, has not given out the details of how the earnings are calculated. 

For some, it seems they are using how far the pickup and drop-off locations are, the demand, and how intricate the order is. There are even talks on some sites that the alternative model has a lower payout than the older one.

But what is considered in knowing how much an Uber Eats driver should earn?

For one, the pickup fee and drop-off fee are included to get the base fare. According to the Uber website, the pickup fee is a fixed fee that the driver needs to pick up from the restaurant. 

While the drop-off fee is for each location where the order needs to be dropped off.

They also considered the distance fee for calculating how much the base fare should be, and it is a per kilometer rate based on the total distance the driver travels from the pickup location to complete the trip. It is calculated through the quickest route between the pickup and drop-off locations.

With the base fare, a trip supplement is also added, and it accounts for any extra time, the distance, and how much demand there is for the type of order the customer made.

In the new pay model, they included tips in calculating the driver payout, although if the customer tips the driver personally, the app will show a lesser payout estimate. It is an excellent way to filter out the orders that pay less.

However, the problem is sometimes the customer is undecided on how much they’ll tip or if they’ll tip anything at all. So it’s not a surefire way to filter out orders with no tips. Uber didn’t encourage tipping in the past.

If there are any promotions that Uber Eats roll out for the drivers or for surge earnings, they also use it to know how much a driver should earn.

There are particular times during the day where Uber creates a location boost zone that gives drivers multipliers for deliveries that start inside the boost area. It helps to motivate drivers to make deliveries where there are a lot of orders.

The app will show the boost zone’s location, the earnings multiplier, and when the multiplier is available. They will include the multiplier into the net fare, that is, after deducting Uber’s fee and does not include the tips as the drivers get all of that.

When there’s an uptake on orders, surge pricing will take effect and is applied to the net fare.

If in case a driver is in a location where surge pricing and boost zone are running, they can only take advantage of what’s higher of the two. They can’t earn both at the same time.

The Uber Plus Card: A Prepaid Way for Uber Eats Drivers

The Uber Plus Card is a payment feature that drivers can use to pay for orders at restaurants that are not partnered with Uber Eats. Drivers need to opt in to receive a Plus Card, though. They can also use the card to pay for their own orders.

A Step-by-Step Guide on How Delivery for Uber Eats Works

1. Getting notified about the order

Drivers have around 15-30 secs to accept a delivery request after a customer completes their order on the app. After accepting a request, more details will come up about where the order will be picked up, along with the customer’s name, order number, and any special requests from the restaurant.

There’s also a way to call the customer to check if there’s anything they’d like to add or if the driver wants to confirm any special requests.

2. Picking up the order

After accepting the order, know the location of the restaurant using the in-app GPS, but if in case the driver would like to use a different app, they can do so.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the driver needs to show the employees the details of the customer’s order and that they’re there to pick it up. 

Once the driver gets the order, they need to confirm through the app that they picked up the order and choose “Start delivery” to go to the next step.

3. Dropping off the order

The customer’s location will then be visible on the app, and the GPS will instruct how to get there. At the customer’s location, the driver needs to check any instructions on how the customer will get the order.

4. Drop off at the curb

The customer goes outside and gets the order from the driver. They’ll receive a text that they will need to meet the driver at the curb.

5. Door to door delivery

The driver will need to meet the customer at their address. Although it might not be obvious where the customer really is based on the pin. The driver will then need to call or text them what they want to do next.

6. No contact delivery

This option was added because of the pandemic. The driver just needs to drop off the order at the customer’s door without the need for someone to actually be there at the door to get it.

Once the delivery is done, the driver just needs to tap on “Delivered” in the app to complete the delivery. There’s also an option to rate the experience and complete the whole order.

What if the customer cancels or doesn’t show?

If the customer’s order gets canceled, the driver gets an amount equal to the pickup and drop-off fees along with the estimated mileage fee. 

If they can’t find the customer after waiting for 8 minutes, the driver can cancel the order and dispose of the food in any way they wish. Although in other situations, cancellation may not result in a payout.

Who to Contact if There’s a Problem

There are several ways for a driver to get help when there’s a problem with an order. 

There’s an option through the app to contact Uber Eats driver support, the restaurant, or the customer themselves, depending on the situation.

• Problems with picking up the order: The restaurant will be the best contact, and this will be available in the app.
• Problems completing the order after the pick up: Contact Uber support (1-800-253-9435) immediately.
• Problems dropping off the order: Contact the customer for further questions.
• Problems contacting the customer: Contact Uber support (1-800-253-9435)

Uber Eats Drivers Experience: Is Driving for Uber Eats Worth It In 2021?

Compared to Uber, Uber Eats has easier vehicle requirements, so anyone with a car or a bicycle or a scooter that meets those requirements can deliver for Uber Eats and earn. 

They do not have scheduling shifts, nor do they need to answer to a boss, which are some benefits that Uber Eats drivers enjoy.

The vehicle requirements are more open compared to Uber, so almost any model year qualifies. Uber Eats drivers do not have to deal with customers all the time during the delivery. Drivers can be as young as 19, and if they have a bicycle, they can go down to 18 years old. One of the problems delivering for Uber Eats is that pay can get extremely low, depending on how busy an area is. 

There’s never a guaranteed minimum pay, which may often make waiting at restaurants for a long time, traffic and parking, and finding where the customer is not worth delivering for. So to answer the question Is Uber Eats Worth It? It really depends upon your locality and the locals, as many Uber Eats drivers are living solely by doing this.

But if a driver is open to flexible worth, trying out Uber Eats may get them big payouts once in a while if they plan their deliveries correctly. 

Customers Experience: Is Ordering for Uber Eats Worth It In 2021?

Uber Eats was initially part of the Uber app, but in 2016, it created a separate platform for it. It was to make things easier for the customer and for Uber and Uber Eats to focus on what they do and develop their strengths.

An upside to this is that customers can use the same login for both Uber and Uber Eats, and they can also use the same payment information.

Do Customers Need to Tip Their Drivers?

Fees can pile up when ordering through the app, but customers should not let this stop them from giving their drivers a fair tip for their orders. 

Although based on a study in 2019 involving 500 delivery drivers, over 60 percent cited low or no tip at all as their number one issue when delivering.

Uber Eats drivers are not direct employees of Uber, so they practically don’t get any benefits from the company. 

They don’t also receive any reimbursement for gas, maintenance, or vehicle registration expenses. It often results in low pay for drivers. They often depend on tips to make ends meet.

Tipping is not mandatory in the app, but customers can choose for themselves how they can show their appreciation for the driver who delivered their order.

Customers can leave a tip on the app during checkout, or they can leave an excellent review for the service. They can also give their tips to the drive-in person when they come and deliver the customer’s order.

Can Customers Order From Different Restaurants in One Uber Eats Order?

Lots of people have certainly experienced not getting friends to agree on delivery, often resulting in different orders. Uber Eats doesn’t allow ordering food from different restaurants in a single order, but once one is done, customers can start with a second order. Although customers have to know that every order through Uber Eats has its own delivery fee.

Which brings us to the question, how much is the Uber Eats delivery fee? In 2018, they had a flat delivery rate of $4.99 but replaced it with a different one soon after.

Delivery fees now depend on the customer’s location and the availability of the driver. An upside to this is that before completing the order, they can see the fees they’ll need to pay and then decide if they want to go through with the order or not.

Suppose the customer chose a restaurant that does not offer delivery. In that case, there will be a 15% service fee on top of the total order, and if the total order comes out below $10, there’s a fee for small orders.

Customers Leaving a Review on Uber Eats

A review is the best way to let Uber Eats know how a customer felt after a particular delivery. They can rate both the restaurant and the driver with 1 to 5 stars, dependent on the service they received from the driver.

The feedback is also anonymous, so the customer does not need to feel apprehensive when leaving feedback. These ratings are even collated and averaged on a driver’s profile.

It is also safe to note that Uber Eats takes reviews seriously, as drivers with low ratings might lose their chance to ever drive for Uber again.

Editor’s Note on Is Uber Eats Worth It:

This article is published to help Uber Eats Drivers and Customers to understand what Uber Eats is and how it functions. We have covered many queries, but if there is something left out, then please let us know. We would love to hear back from you.

Contact Us

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